Why is the shape of a red blood cell donut shape?

Answer 1

When a red blood cell matures it pushes out its nucleus. Its internal structures go through a shape change, giving the cell a discoid form, bi-concave, depressed centrally on both sides but not so much that the depressions meet to form a hole.

The technical term for a doughnut shape is 'torus'. A red blood cell is 'toroid' or 'a toroid' or 'toroidal'. Perhaps one could say it was a 'closed torus'.

This shape allows for more surface area to bind oxygen and carbon dioxide during gas exchange. The cells distinct form also makes the cell more flexible so that it can get through the smaller blood vessels.

Answer 2

The proper name for the 'dimple' is the biconcave disk or biconcave shape. They have this to produce more surface area to allow more oxygen to gather in the cell as your blood pulses around your body.

Answer 3

Blood cells, red blood cells specifically, have a dimple in it, because it is this shape that allows it the hold the maximum amount of oxygen, not to mention travel smoothy through the bloodstream.

Answer 4

This type of structure of red blood cell comes probably due to sacrifice of the nucleus. This type of structure increases the surface area of the red blood cell. So that the cell get saturated in fraction of the second, during passage near the alveolus of the lung. Due to this shape the cell can pass through the capillary after getting folded, the diameter of the capillary being smaller than the red blood cell.

Answer 5

It is shaped like the almost doughnut shape because if you look at it, it has the most surface area to volume ratio, doesn't it? The higher the ratio, the better it can move materials, in this case oxygen.

Answer 6

Because dimples are cute! :D